Easy Coffee and Cardamom Truffles ~ a decadent combination of dark chocolate, cardamom, and coffee!
I’m catering dessert for a friend’s book club meeting next week. I don’t know what they’re reading, but apparently they’re quite a group of chocoholics, so one of the things I’m making for them are these tiny dark chocolate truffles infused with the flavors of Turkish coffee. I don’t see any reason to file away truffles just because the holiday season is over. I think these cardamom and coffee truffles are the perfect mid January after dinner reward for all the dieting and organizing everyone’s been doing.
Even though I’ve been making truffles for years, I still can’t quite believe that something so delicious is so utterly simple to make.
It seems counter to the rules of food physics or something. I love that I can make them a few days ahead, and I also like that they are bite sized, so people who just want a taste of something sweet can do that without having a whole plate of dessert.
I mixed a tablespoon of instant espresso powder with the heavy cream and dropped in a few roasted and crushed cardamom pods. I let them steep for about 10 minutes before I strained the hot cream over the dark chocolate.
Just those few minutes of steeping infuses the truffles with a subtle background hint of cardamom…very exotic.
TIP: You can use semi sweet or bittersweet chocolate chips for this recipe, too.
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 1 Tbsp instant espresso powder
- 5 cardamom pods, cracked open
- 8 oz good quality dark chocolate, cut in small pieces
- unsweetened cocoa powder for dusting (about 1/2 cup)
Instructions
- Pour the cream into a small saucepan, along with the coffee powder and cardamom pods. Heat over medium heat, stirring to dissolve the coffee powder. When the cream almost reaches the simmer, turn off the heat and let it steep for 10 minutes.
- Put the chocolate in a small bowl.
- Bring the cream back up to a simmer, then pour the hot cream over the chocolate and let it sit for 10 minutes.
- Stir the chocolate cream mixture to completely melt the chocolate. Keep stirring until you have a smooth glossy mixture. If there are still any lumps of chocolate, you can microwave the mix for about 10 seconds.
- Pour the ganache into a shallow pan, like a pie plate. No need to spread it out.
- Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until the ganache is firm enough to scoop, this will take about an hour to an hour and a half.
- Remove from the refrigerator and, using a small 1" scoop, melon baller, or a teaspoon, scoop small portions of the ganache and roll between your palms to form a smooth round ball. Set the balls on a plate while you finish the rest. Don't worry if you can't get the truffles perfectly round---the candy is named after the rare underground mushrooms that are famously misshapen!
- Roll the truffles in the cocoa powder to completely and evenly coat them. Store in the refrigerator, or at room temperature.
notes:
- Love truffles? Try my decadent CopyCat Ferrero Rocher Truffles, or my spiked Grand Marnier Truffles.
Don’t forget to pin it!
27 Comments
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shannon weber
January 15, 2013 at 3:41 amhow delightful! and not that i’m thinking about valentine’s day already, buuuuut..these would be kinda perfect for valentine’s day. If anyone were to know anyone who loves coffee and cardamom (ahem). :)
Claudia
January 14, 2013 at 5:45 pmOkay – that’s a lot easier than the recipes I have (and don’t make). Love how you infuse flavor. Will be doing this.
grace
January 14, 2013 at 8:13 pmi don’t think cardamom gets enough glory in this nation, and that’s a shame. this is a delightful ingredient combination!
Barbara
January 14, 2013 at 12:56 pmI’m saving this one, Sue. I had to laugh…I have so many chocoholic friends and it’s the only reason I ever make anything chocolate! My friend Polly will be in heaven when I make these for her. (Of course, I always take a bite first)
(Made your double chocolate shortbreads for her last month too, will be posting soon.)
l o v e l y t h i n g s
January 14, 2013 at 2:54 amYou’re right…truffles are perfect for January…especially when they look like this. When does your book come out???
The Café Sucré Farine
January 13, 2013 at 6:54 pmWow, these sound amazing. I have some Turkish coffee cups from a trip to Turkey awhile back. I think that gives me the perfect excuse to make these fabulous looking treats! LOVE the photos!
vanillasugarblog
January 14, 2013 at 2:13 ami made a mocha milkshake with cardamon in it and was hooked!
now seeing these i’m need to do more with cardamom
Lizzy Do
January 14, 2013 at 12:56 amWow, stunning photos! It’s been eons since I’ve made truffles…but now I have a sudden urge…LOL.
Tricia
January 13, 2013 at 11:50 pmHi my name is Tricia and I’m a chocoholic. Thanks for the beautiful chocolate fix!
Kat
January 13, 2013 at 11:06 pmWhat a treat for the book club (I’d read any book for these). I love the addition of cardamom, these sound like a very intriguing variety to ordinary truffles!
SavoringTime in the Kitchen
January 13, 2013 at 4:13 pmI’m not sure which I more drawn to…the truffles with that lovely cardamom flavor or those gorgeous cups! Beautiful – both of them.
Vespa Woolf
January 13, 2013 at 12:58 pmWhat gorgeous photos! Cardamom sounds like the perfect complement to dark chocolate truffles. Looking forward to sampling them myself–thanks!
Magnolia Verandah
January 13, 2013 at 12:35 amCardamom is such an evocative versatile spice – I love it – just the smell of a crushed pod rubbed between the palms heightens all the senses somehow. These little coffee gems look perfect.
Sue/the view from great island
January 13, 2013 at 2:21 amI’ve been a little obsessed with it lately, it has an almost spiritual scent.
Inside a British Mum's Kitchen
January 13, 2013 at 12:24 amI think the book club will eat these up! so delicious and I love the addition of caardamom
Mary x
La Table De Nana
January 12, 2013 at 9:55 pmLove the cups:-)
And the truffles of course..
Sue/the view from great island
January 12, 2013 at 10:46 pmI was more concerned with getting a shot of the pretty cups than I was about the truffles :)
My Little Bungalow
January 12, 2013 at 9:47 pmMmmm, cardamom is one of my favorite spices, ever since I made a cardamom coffee cake! I’ll bet these are delicious. I’ll be adding them to my list of yummy things to make.
Claudia
Sue/the view from great island
January 12, 2013 at 10:45 pmThat Moosewood Cookbook Cardamom coffee cake was one of the first things I ever made, and it’s still a favorite. It definitely introduced me to cardamom.
Kate
January 12, 2013 at 9:39 pmI’d read a stinkin’ encyclopedia if I’d get one of these!!
Gorgeous cups, too!
Sue/the view from great island
January 12, 2013 at 10:45 pmI have to stop ‘testing’ them or there’ll be none for the group!
Heather Schmitt-Gonzalez
January 12, 2013 at 9:27 pmOh, I definitely think truffles are seasonless! These sound amazing, such a perfect combination. And I just love that tea/coffee service – it fits perfectly with the turkish theme. Lovely.
Sue/the view from great island
January 12, 2013 at 10:44 pmI got into Turkish coffee a few years ago, but only just found the cups buried in some of my family boxes in the garage. They were my grandmothers, I think, and I was thrilled to find them. I think Turkish coffee must have been a fad back in the 1920s, I’m going to look it up.
Sue/the view from great island
January 12, 2013 at 7:45 pmFunny you should mention the chocolate, after I got finished photographing the chocolate I realized it was unsweetened, so I wrapped it back up and ended up using the only other dark chocolate I had left in my ‘chocolate drawer’, the super-primo Scharffen Berger bittersweet! Actually I’ve always been pleased with the Baker’s squares, but I know you’ve mentioned the Trader Joe’s brand before, and I mean to give it a try.
Averie @ Averie Cooks
January 12, 2013 at 7:18 pmI can only imagine how good these are! The coffee flavor, the intensity of the dark chocolate – I would love one of these rich little babies! Random aside but it looks like you’re probably using Baker’s brand chocolate squares. I find that in recipes like this TJ’s 72% Pound Plus bar works very well and ounce for ounce is about half the price. But clearly you don’t need to change a thing b/c they look amazing!